My grandparents were passionate about their gardening, so when I was teaching at a university in China it was enjoyable for me to watch the efforts of some of my neighbors bear fruit. I could look over the wall enclosing their homes, and see them working in their garden almost every day. My building was taller than their wall, so my view was unobstructed and fascinating.
As you can see in the two photographs above, everyone in the compound worked in the garden. The men and women all pitched in, and they also brought the little ones out while they were working. Nothing seemed to keep them from tending to their crops.
In the photo above, you can see how the old guys are subject matter experts, so I am sure they were reviewing the work and progress of their younger neighbors. Maybe they were talking about how it was done back in the good old days. In the picture below, you can see just how much work was done by hand. Even the watering was done by hand sometimes!
Finally, the scene above speaks volumes about all of the hard work my neighbors put into their gardening and the resources they had. In the center of the photo you can see one man using a hand pump well to get water for their garden. In the upper left section, you can see another man going with a shovel into their outhouse to get some fertilizer. They worked hard for everything that grew in their garden, and I am sure they enjoyed eating their fresh produce very much. How is your gardening going this year?